KR20100032899A - Method and apparatus for providing timing alignment - Google Patents

Abstract

An approach includes generating a control message having a format designated for resource allocation, wherein the control message includes a plurality of control fields. One of the control fields is reserved to specify information other than information for resource allocation, the value indicating timing alignment information or information for starting a random access procedure. The control message is transmitted over a control channel according to a lower layer protocol.

Description

Method and apparatus for providing timing alignment

Related applications

This application is related to US Patent Law 35 U.S.C. §119 (e) claims priority to US Provisional Application No. 60 / 944,662, filed on June 8, 2007, filed on June 8, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Wireless data networks (e.g., Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, spread spectrum systems (such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks), time division multiple access ( Wireless communication systems such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX, etc.) provide users with the convenience of mobility along with rich services and features. This convenience has been adopted by a growing number of consumers as a recognized form of communication for business and personal use. To facilitate greater adoption, the telecommunications industry from producers to service providers has agreed to enormous costs and efforts to develop standards for communication protocols that underlie these various services and features. One area of such effort involves control signaling to ensure efficient and accurate delivery of data.

Therefore, a need exists for an approach to provide efficient signaling that can coexist with already developed standards and protocols.

The method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes generating a control message to provide either timing alignment information or a dedicated random access preamble, in which case the control message comprises a plurality of control fields. . The method also includes reusing one of the control fields to define the timing alignment information or the dedicated random access preamble, in which case the control message is sent to a lower layer protocol. Therefore, it is transmitted through the control channel.

An apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention includes logic configured to generate a control message to provide either timing alignment information or a dedicated random access preamble, in which case the control message includes a plurality of control fields. do. The logic is further configured to reuse one of the control fields to define the timing alignment information or the dedicated random access preamble. The control message is transmitted through a control channel according to a lower layer protocol.

An apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention comprises means for generating a control message to provide either timing alignment information or a dedicated random access preamble, in which case the control message comprises a plurality of control fields. . The apparatus also includes means for reusing one of the control fields to define the timing alignment information or the dedicated random access preamble. The control message is transmitted through a control channel according to a lower layer protocol.

A method according to another embodiment of the present invention includes receiving a control message that defines either timing alignment information or a dedicated random access preamble, wherein the control message includes a plurality of control fields, And one of the control fields is reused to define the timing alignment information or the dedicated random access preamble. The control message is transmitted through a control channel according to a lower layer protocol including L1 / L2 protocol or medium access control (MAC) layer protocol.

An apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention includes reception logic configured to receive a control message that defines either timing alignment information or a dedicated random access preamble, in which case the control message includes a plurality of control fields. And one of the control fields is reused to define the timing alignment information or the dedicated random access preamble. The control message is transmitted through a control channel according to a lower layer protocol including L1 / L2 protocol or medium access control (MAC) layer protocol.

An apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention comprises means for receiving a control message that defines either timing alignment information or a dedicated random access preamble, in which case the control message comprises a plurality of control fields and And one of the control fields is reused to define the timing alignment information or the dedicated random access preamble. The control message is transmitted through a control channel according to a lower layer protocol including L1 / L2 protocol or medium access control (MAC) layer protocol.

By illustrating several specific embodiments and implementations, including the best mode foreseen for carrying out the invention, further aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description. Other and different embodiments are also possible in the present invention, and all of the various aspects of the invention can be modified in various obvious respects without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

Embodiments of the invention in each of the figures in the accompanying drawings are shown by way of example and not by way of limitation.
1 is a diagram of a communication system capable of providing control signaling in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
2A-2C are flowcharts of processes for conveying dedicated random access preamble information or timing alignment information, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.
3 is a diagram of non-contention based on a random access procedure that may be utilized in conjunction with various exemplary embodiments.
4 is a diagram of contention based on a random access procedure that may be utilized in conjunction with various exemplary embodiments.
5 is a diagram of hardware that may be used to implement embodiments of the present invention.
6A-6D are diagrams of a communication system with an exemplary long-term evolution (LTE) architecture and an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) architecture, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Within the system, the system of FIG. 1 may operate to provide control signaling.
7 is a diagram of exemplary components of an LTE terminal capable of operating in the system of FIGS. 6A-6D, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

An apparatus, method and software for providing timing element information or dedicated random access preamble information are disclosed. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details or with equivalent equipment. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring embodiments of the present invention.

Although embodiments of the present invention are described with respect to a wireless network that is compatible with Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture, embodiments of the present invention may be applied to any type of communication system and equivalent functional characteristics. It is recognized by those skilled in the art that the present invention belongs.

1 is a diagram of a communication system capable of providing resource allocation, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, one or more user equipment (UEs) 101 is a base station 103 that is part of an access network (eg, 3GPP LTE or E-UTRAN, etc.). ). Under 3GPP LTE architecture (such as shown in FIGS. 6A-6D), the base station 103 is represented as an enhanced Node B (eNB). The UE 101 may be connected to any type of interface to a user, such as a handset, terminal, station, unit, device, multimedia tablet, Internet node, communicator, personal digital assistant, or user (such as " werable " circuitry). May be any type of mobile station. The UE 101 includes an antenna system 107 coupled to the transceiver 105 for receiving or transmitting signals from the transceiver 105 and the base station 103. The antenna system 107 may include one or more antennas.

Like the UE 101, the base station 103 employs a transceiver 111 that transmits information to the UE 10. In addition, the base station 103 may employ one or more antennas 109 to transmit and receive electromagnetic signals. For example, the Node B 103 may utilize a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna system 109, whereby the Node B 103 may have multiple antenna transmit and receive capabilities. Can support Such a facility may support parallel transmission of independent data streams to obtain a high data rate between the UE 101 and the Node B 103. In an exemplary embodiment, the base station 103 uses Orthogonal Frequency Divisional Multiplexing (OFDM) as a downlink (DL) transmission scheme, and a cyclic prefix as an uplink (UL) transmission scheme. Single carrier transmission (e.g., Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA)). SC-FDMA can also be realized using the DFT-S-OFDM principle, which is the subject of 3GGP TR 25.814, "Physical Layer Aspects for Evolved UTRA," v.1.5.0 of May 2006. It is described in detail in the document of (this document is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). SC-FDMA, also referred to as Multi-User-SC-FDMA, allows multiple users to transmit on different sub-bands simultaneously.

The mobile station 101 employs resource allocation logic 113 to request resources from the network. At the network side, the base station 103 provides resource allocation logic 115 to allow resources for a communication link with the mobile station 101. In this example, the communication link engages in a downlink to support traffic from the network to the user. Once resources are allocated, data transfer can begin.

In this example, the allocated resources include physical resource blocks (PRBs), corresponding to OFDM symbols, to provide communication between the UE 101 and the base station 103. do. That is, the OFDM symbols are organized into a number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) that contain consecutive sub-carriers for corresponding consecutive OFDM symbols. To indicate which physical resource blocks (or sub-carriers) have been allocated to the UE 101, two example schemes include: (1) bit mapping, and (2) the beginning of an allocation block. And by using several bits representing the length (start, length).

In order to ensure reliable data transmission, the system 100 of FIG. 1 in some embodiments is automatically retransmitted, commonly known as Forward Error Correction (FEC) coding and Hybrid ARQ (HARQ). Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) uses the concatenation of the protocol. Automatic Retransmission Request (ARQ) is an error detection mechanism that utilizes error detection logic (not shown). This mechanism allows the receiver to inform the transmitter that a packet or sub-packet was received incorrectly, so that the receiver can request the transmitter to resend specific packet (s). This can be accomplished with a Stop and Wait (SAW) procedure, in which case the transmitter waits for a response from the receiver before sending or retransmitting packets. Faulty packets are used in conjunction with retransmitted packets.

According to some embodiments, the system 100 provides synchronous HARQ and asynchronous HARQ. Synchronous HARQ means that the network (in particular, scheduler 117) is limited to allocating resources for retransmission. This suggests that after the first transmission (new data transmission) it is necessary to reuse the current assignment with some change (scheduled synchronous) or without any change (unscheduled synchronous) at a specific time / frequency. Alternatively, if the details of the allocation change (scheduled synchronous), the network may need to provide new resource allocation to the resource allocation (PDCCH) UE 101 at a fixed interval after the first transmission / scheduling. will be. The UE 101 will only need to listen for the PDCCHs available (if such a PDCCH is present) at some time moments.

In contrast, in asynchronous HAQR, the scheduler 117 is not obliged to meet timing requirements regarding scheduling for resources to the UE 101 for HARQ retransmission. Each UE 101 will need to listen to all DL PDCCHs in order to receive resource allocation for HARQ retransmission.

In view of the UE 101, synchronous HARQ is simple and enables power saving. However, this approach limits the freedom in scheduling the packet scheduler 117 in the network and potentially reduces the amount of retransmission needed to increase UE power consumption (eg, in the case of undesirable scheduling options). Affects. From the scheduler's point of view, the advantage of synchronous retransmission is that there is no need to use any PDCCH resources for scheduling retransmissions.

According to some embodiments, the system 100 utilizes L1 / L2 control signaling or medium access control (MAC) layer signaling to determine timing alignment (TA) information or dedicated. It provides for transmitting a random access preamble. Furthermore, if the UE 101 deviates from uplink synchronization for the MAC layer signaling, the approach indicates whether hybrid ARQ (HARQ) is applied using an L1 / L2 control signal. . In one exemplary embodiment, signaling is controlled by resource allocation logic (or module) 115.

Data transmission scheduler 117 operates in conjunction with the resource allocation module 115 to provide for scheduling data transmission to the UE 101. Although the resource allocation logic 115 is shown as part of the base station 103, it is contemplated that the resource allocation logic 115 may be implemented elsewhere on the network side.

On the network side, a radio network controller (RNC) (not shown) communicates with the base station 103 to manage radio resources. In addition to radio resource management, the RNC provides management and operation of Radio Resource Control (RRC). According to one embodiment, the base station 103 as an eNB may include RNC functions as shown in FIGS. 6A-6D.

The system 100 provides various channel types: physical channels, transport channels and logical channels. In this example, physical channels are established between the UE 101 and a base station 103, and transport channels and logical channels are established between the UE 101, BS 103, and RNC. The physical channels include a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a dedicated physical downlink dedicated channel (DPDCH), and a dedicated physical control channel (DPDCH). DPCCH)) and the like.

Transport channels are defined by how the transport channels transmit data over the air interface and the characteristics of the data. The transport channels include a broadcast channel (BCH), a paging channel (PCH), a dedicated shared channel (DSCH), and the like. Other exemplary transport channels include uplink (UL) random access channel (RACH), common packet channel (CPCH), and forward access channel (FACH). Downlink shared channel (DSCH), uplink shared channel (USCH), broadcast channel (BCH) and paging channel (PCH). The dedicated transport channel is a UL / DL dedicated channel (DCH). Each transport channel is mapped to one or more physical channels depending on the physical characteristics of that transport channel.

Each logical channel may be defined by the type and the required quality of service (QoS) of the information carried by that channel. Associated logical channels are, for example, broadcast control channel (BCCH), paging control channel (PCCH), dedicated control channel (DCCH), common control channel ( Common Control Channel (CCCH)), Shared Channel Control Channel (SHCCH), Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH), Common Traffic Channel (CTCH), and the like.

Table 1 below shows the traditional format for providing resource allocation of downlink data.

PDCCH Format field Explanation Identity name Identifier Identification Cell wireless network temporary identity Error detection Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) Physical resource block allocation indicator Resource allocation Transport format indicator (TFI) Modulation and Coding Schemes (MCS) HARQ control Providing Confirm Signaling in HARQ Support

In the LTE (eg, RAN2) architecture, the random access procedure has two distinct shapes: a contention based procedure (such as shown in detail in FIG. 3) and a detail in FIG. 4. Non-conteniton procedure (applicable only to handover and DL data arrival). For example, uplink (UL) synchronization is performed via a random access procedure. In case of downlink (DL) data arrival to the UL-non-synchronized UE 101, the eNB 103 may assign a dedicated random access preamble to the UE 101 so that the random access procedure can be performed without contention. Can be assigned. Note that this approach not only applies hybrid ARQ (HARQ) but also raises some concerns about how signaling can be performed efficiently to carry the dedicated random access preamble and timing alignment information. Processes for transmitting such information, described below, address this concern.

2A-2C are flow diagrams of processes for conveying dedicated random access preamble information or timing alignment information, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In detail, FIG. 2A illustrates an approach that allows timing alignment (TA) information to be signaled without minimal overhead or any additional overhead. As shown, in step 201, a control message is generated to include TA information, and the resource allocation field, modulation, by reserving some value of one of the fields to define information for something other than resource allocation. The TA information is defined by "reusing" existing control fields, such as fields or hybrid (HARQ) fields. That is, instead of creating a separate field for TA information, this information is transmitted over the control channel, as in step 203, without incurring additional signaling overhead. For example, the value of one of the fields may be indicated or reserved for timing alignment information or for signaling the status of the random access procedure. In addition, the one value may indicate a special use of the remainder of the bits. According to one embodiment, the control message is transmitted utilizing a lower layer protocol-for example, an L1 / L2 protocol or a medium access control (MAC) layer protocol. Furthermore, the control message may include either a downlink shared channel or an uplink shared channel.

As an example, the control signal formats for L1 / L2 control signaling are shown in Tables 2 and 3 below:

5MHZ DL purpose Used bits comment Resource allocation 18 PRB allocated for UE TBS + MCS 7 2 bits for modulation, 5 bits for transport block size (TBS) HARQ 5 Asynchronous HARQ: 3 bits for HARQ processes, 2 bits for RV Pre-coding 3 Assuming one pre-coding for dependent total allocation in determining the pre-coding bandwidth, 1-3 (4) bits for the transmission of 2 (4) antennas Dual Stream / 2CW 11 6-11 (up to 14) bits for 2 (4) Tx antennas dependent on the decision in the multiple input multiple output (MIMO) group MAC-ID + CRC 20 16-24 bit CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check)

5MHZ UL purpose Used bits comment Resource allocation 9 Consecutive PRBs assigned to the UE TBS + MCS 7 Number and coding of modulation + information bits HARQ 2 Synchronous HARQ: 2-3 bit sequence number with implicit acknowledgment of previous TB PC 2 Relative instructions Sounding pilot indicator One The indication is the sounding pilot present in the last LB (from other UEs) or the last LB available for data. CQI indication One The scheduled CQI must be included with the data. ACK / NACK indication One Indicates whether the UE should reserve resources for ACK / NACK in the PSUCH Multi antenna technology 2 Dependent decision up to 2 bits for multi-user MIMO and UL multi-antenna technology UE_id + CRC 20 16-24 bit CRC

The control format may be generalized as shown in the following [Table 4] and [Table 5] according to an exemplary embodiment.

DL (5MHZ) purpose Used bits comment MAC-ID (= UE ID) + CRC 16-24 16-24 bit CRC Modulation 2 Transport block size (coding rate) 3 HARQ 4 Asynchronous HARQ: 3 bits for HARQ processes and 2 bits for RV Other things About 14 MIMO and Pre-coding Related Information Resource allocation 18 PRB assigned to UE

UL (5MHZ) purpose Used bits comment MAC-ID (= UE ID) + CRC 16-24 16-24 bit CRC Modulation 2 Transport block size (coding rate) 5 HARQ 2 Synchronous HARQ: 2-3 bit sequence number with implicit acknowledgment of previous TB Other things About 7 PC command. Pilot, CQI, ACK / NACK. MIMO related Resource allocation 9 Consecutive PRBs assigned to the UE

For purposes of illustration, the approach according to certain embodiments is described in the context of HARQ operation and the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the LET. 2B shows a process for signaling a proprietary signature and TA information. According to one embodiment, allocating a dedicated random access preamble may comprise using an L1 / L2 control signal; However, it is contemplated that MAC layer signaling may also be utilized as an alternative. Regarding timing alignment (TA) information signaling, both types of signaling may be defined in LTE system 100. According to one embodiment, L1 / L2 control signaling is utilized when no resources are allocated for data. As such, the process determines whether there is data and associated assignments as in step 211. If no data or resource allocation exists, a dedicated signature is sent using L1 / L2 control signaling (step 213). After that, the timing instruction information is transmitted in step 215. However, if data or resources have been allocated (step 211), the process checks as in step 217 whether the UE 101 is uplink synchronized and whether there is actually DL data. If so, the TA information is transmitted using MAC control signaling at step 219. In summary, if the UE 101 is UL-synchronized and DL data is present, the TA information may be transmitted in a DL MAC control signal. However, if the UE 101 is not UL-synchronized or there is no DL data to be transmitted and no resource allocation, TA information can be transmitted via the L1 / L2 control signal for optimization.

To further illustrate this process of reusing a physical downlink control channel, the following operation in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention is described. The system 100 according to some embodiments allows using the L1 / L2 control signal without any resource allocation for data; This may be an L1 / L2 control signal for either the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) or uplink shared channel (UL-SCH). In the case of DL-SCH, the UE 101 simply decodes the L1 / L2 control signal, but does not decode data allocation. For UL-SCH, the UE 101 decodes the L1 / L2 control signal and does not transmit any data. According to one embodiment, for example, to indicate that no resource allocation exists, the transport block size (TBS) is for example "0" (number of resource blocks to be used = 0 or coding) Rate type = 0). An L1 / L2 control signal having n or none of the DL-SCH and the UL-SCH may be generated. If there is no resource allocation for data at all, the fields for "Resource Allocation", "Modulation", "HARQ", etc. can be reused for other purposes.

In one embodiment, a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resource block identifier identifying a time-frequency resource for the UEs to create a dedicated random access preamble and a random access burst may be included in the field of “resource allocation”. have. Note that various fields other than "resource allocation" can also be used. For example, one PRACH resource block may have 64 independent random access preambles. In addition, the system 100 may be equipped with several PRACH resource blocks for random access; One of these blocks can be defined within this control signal-that is, the PRACH block identifier can be defined for this purpose.

According to one embodiment, if the eNB 103 has enough TA information to transmit to the UE 101, the TA information may be included in the “resource allocation” field, instead of dedicated random access preambles. It is anticipated that other fields may be utilized. In one embodiment, approximately four bits may be used to represent the time element value.

In one exemplary embodiment, an indication bit may be provided to specify whether the content is for random access or whether timing alignment is included in the L1 / L2 control signal. This indication bit may be present in the reuse of the "resource allocation" field, for example.

2C shows a process for the purpose of defining whether error control is provided. To indicate HARQ operation, even if there is a resource allocation in the DL, HARQ may be turned off for that transmission. Whether HARQ can be used depends on the UL synchronization state (step 221). Therefore, it is useful to indicate the availability of HARQ operation in the L1 / L2 control signal. That is, the L1 / L2 control signal may indicate whether the HARQ is applied to data in a corresponding resource allocation. In step 223, the process determines whether HARQ is adopted. If the UE 101 is not in the UL-synchronized state, the UE 101 cannot transmit an ACK / NACK signal in UL for DL-HARQ. In this case, "dedicated random access preamble allocation via the DL MAC control signal" and "TA information signaling via the DL MAC control signal" may be performed by indicating that HARQ has not been applied. Furthermore, if the UE 101 is not in the UL-synchronized state, "TA information signaling via DL MAC control signal" may be transmitted with an indication that HARQ is applied to utilize more reliable transmission. According to one embodiment, a specific value of the “HARQ” field in the L1 / L2 control signal may be defined at step 225 to indicate that no HARQ is used. Subsequently, the control signal is transmitted to the UE 101 (step 227).

The above approach according to some embodiments provides a number of advantages. For example, the above described approach provides a more efficient signaling mechanism when assigning a dedicated random access preamble and signaling UL timing assignment information without including any DL data transmission. The DL-SCH is used since the L1 / L2 control signals are reused. Furthermore, the above approach according to some embodiments provides for explicit signaling, which is more reliable than the implicit way.

3 is a diagram of a random access procedure based non-contention, which may be utilized in conjunction with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The random access procedure may be performed for the following events: 1) Initial Access Configuration Radio Resource Control (RRC) Idle; 2) handover request random access procedure; 3) downlink data arrival during the RRC connection request random access procedure, for example when UL synchronization is de-synchronized; And 4) UL data arrival during the RRC connection request random access procedure, for example when UL synchronization is de-synchronized or there are no dedicated scheduling request channels available.

The contention-based random access procedure, as shown, covers all four events: random access preamble, random access response, scheduled transmission and contention resolution. The non-contention based random access procedure (shown in FIG. 4) is applicable only to handover and DL data arrival. Note that normal DL (downlink) / UL (uplink) transmission may be taken after the random access procedure.

The contention-based random access procedure is described as follows. In step 301, the UE 101 transmits a random access preamble on the RACH (Random Access Channel) in the uplink. Then, in step 303, the eNB 103 responds with a random access response generated by a MAC and transmitted on a synchronization channel (DL-SCH). Next, as in step 305, the UE 101 transmits the first scheduled UL transmission on the UL-SCH. In step 307, the eNB 103 transmits a contention resolution on the DL-SCH.

4 is a diagram of a contention based random access procedure that may be utilized in conjunction with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. This non-contention based random access procedure includes the following steps. First, in step 401, the eNB 103 transmits a random access preamble assignment via a dedicated signaling DL. In step 403, the UE 101 transmits a random access preamble on the RACH in the uplink, and the eNB 103 responds with a random access response on the DL-SCH, as in step 405.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above processes for providing timing alignment may be software, hardware (e.g., general purpose processors, digital signal processing (DSP) chips, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). It will be appreciated that this may be implemented through)), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), firmware, or a combination of them. Such exemplary hardware for performing the functions described above is described in detail below with respect to FIG. 5.

5 illustrates example hardware in which various embodiments of the invention may be implemented. Computing system 500 includes a bus 501 or other communication mechanism for transferring information and a processor 503 coupled to bus 501 to process information. The computing system 500 is also connected to the bus 501 and stores main information 505, such as random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, that stores information and instructions to be executed by the processor 503. ). Main memory 505 may also be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions by the processor 503. The computing system 500 may also include a read-only memory (ROM) or other static storage device coupled to the bus 501 to store static information and instructions for the processor 503. A storage device 509, such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk, is coupled to the bus 501 to permanently store information and instructions.

The computing system 500 may be coupled with the bus 501 to a display 511 such as a liquid crystal display or an active matrix display to display information to a user. An input device 513, such as a keyboard including alphanumeric keys and other keys, is coupled to the bus 501 to convey information and command selections to the processor 503. The input device 513 includes cursor control functions such as mouse, trackball, or cursor direction keys to communicate direction information and command selections to the processor 503 to control cursor movement on the display 511. .

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the processes described herein may be provided by the computing system 500 in response to a processor 503 executing an array of instructions contained in main memory 505. Such instructions may be read into main memory 505 from another computer readable medium, such as storage device 509. Executing an array of instructions contained in main memory 505 causes the processor 503 to perform the process steps described herein. One or more processors in a multiprocessing facility may also be employed to execute instructions contained in main memory 505. In alternative embodiments, hard-wire circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement an embodiment of the invention. In another example, reconfigurable hardware such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) may be used, where the connection phase of the functional and logic gates is typically customizable by a programming memory lookup table. Therefore, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any particular combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The computing system 500 also includes at least one communication interface 515 connected to the bus 501. The communication interface 515 provides bidirectional data communication coupled to a network link (not shown). The communication interface 515 transmits and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information. In addition, the communication interface 515 may include a peripheral device interface such as a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a personal computer memory card international association (PCMCIA) interface, or the like.

The processor 503 may execute upon receiving the transmitted code and / or store the transmitted code in the storage device 509 or other non-volatile storage for later execution. In this way, the computing system 500 may obtain application code that is in the form of a carrier wave.

As used herein, “computer readable medium” refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor 503 for execution. Such a medium may take a variety of shapes, including, but not limited to, nonvolatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 509. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 505. The transmission medium includes coaxial cable, copper wire and optical fiber, including wires comprising the bus 501. Transmission media may also take the form of electromagnetic waveforms, such as acoustic waveforms, optical waveforms, or those generated during radio frequency (RF) data communications and ultraviolet (IR) data communications. Common aspects of computer readable media include, for example, floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, any other magnetic media, CD-ROMs, CDRQs, DVDs, any other optical media, punch cards. , Paper tape, optical mark sheet, any other physical medium having a pattern of holes or other marks optically recognizable, RAM, PROM, EPROM, flash-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave Or any other medium readable by a computer.

Various aspects of computer readable media may also be involved in providing instructions to the processor for execution. For example, instructions for carrying out at least some of the invention may initially be stored on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. In such a scenario, the remote computer loads the instructions into main memory and sends the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. The modem in the local system receives the data on the telephone line and converts the data into an ultraviolet signal using an ultraviolet transmitter to transmit the ultraviolet signal to a portable computing device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) or laptop. An ultraviolet detector on the portable computing device receives the information and instructions carried by the ultraviolet signal and places the data on the bus. The bus carries the data to main memory, and the processor retrieves and executes instructions from the main memory. The instructions received by the main memory may optionally be stored on a storage device before or after execution by the processor.

6A-6D are diagrams of a communication system with an exemplary long-term evolution (LTE) architecture, within which the user equipment (UE) and base station of FIG. 1 in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. This can work. As an example (shown in FIG. 6A), a base station (eg, destination node 103) and a user equipment (UE) (eg, source node 101) may use Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). )) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or Single Carrier Any access scheme, such as Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) (SC-FDMA) or a combination thereof, may be used to communicate within the system 600. In one exemplary embodiment, both uplink and downlink may utilize WCDMA. In another exemplary embodiment, the uplink utilizes SC-FDMA while the downlink utilizes OFDMA.

The communication system 600 is compatible with 3GPP LTE entitled "Long Term Evolution of the 3GPP Radio Technology" (this document is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). As shown in FIG. 6A, one or more user equipments (UEs) 101 may be configured to access an access network (eg, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 3GPP LTE (or E-UTRAN or 8.9G), or the like. Communication with a network equipment, such as base station 103, which is part of < RTI ID = 0.0 > Under the 3GPP LTE architecture, the base station 103 is represented as an enhanced Node B (eNB).

The Mobile Management Entity (MME) / Serving Gateway (601) is a packet transport network (e.g., Internet protocol (IP) in full mesh configuration or partial mash configuration using tunneling. Network) 603) to the eNB 103). Exemplary functions of the MME / Serving GW 601 include the distribution of paging messages to eNBs 103, U for supporting termination of U-plane packets for paging reasons, and UE mobility. Includes plane switching. Since the GWs 601 act as a gateway to external networks, for example the Internet or private networks 603, the GWs 601 can safely determine the identity and privileges of the user and the activity of each user. To access them, including AAA (Access, Authorization and Accounting system) 605. That is, the MME Serving Gateway 601 is an important control-node for the LTE access-network and is responsible for paging procedures including idle mode tracking and retransmission. In addition, the MME 601 is coupled to a bearer activation / deactivation process and is intended for UE at intra-LTE handover at initial attach and including Core Network (CN) node allocation. Responsible for selecting SGW (Serving Gateway).

A more detailed description of the LTE interface is provided in the document entitled “E-UTRA and E-UTRAN: Radio Interface Protocol Aspects” in 3GPP TR 25.813, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In FIG. 6B, communication system 602 is based on GSM / EDGE radio access (GERAN) 604, and UTRAN 606 based access networks, E-UTRAN 612 and non-3GPP (not shown). Access networks are supported, and are described more fully in TR 23.882, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The main feature of this system is the control-plane from a network entity (serving gateway 610) that performs a bearer-plane function with a well-defined open interface (S11) between the MME 608 and the serving gateway 610. It is to separate the network entity (MME 608) that performs the function. Since the E-UTRAN 612 provides higher bandwidths to enable new services as well as to improve existing services, separating the MME 608 from the serving gateway 610 is not the serving gateway 610. Means you can build on an optimized platform for signaling transactions. This approach not only allows these two elements to be scaled independently of each other, but also makes it possible to select more cost-effective platforms for those two elements. Service providers may also select optimized topological positions of serving gateways 610 within the network independently of the location of MMEs 608 to reduce hiding of optimized bandwidth and to avoid centralized points of failure. have.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the E-UTRAN (eg, eNB) 612 interfaces with the UE 101 via LTE-Uu. The E-UTRAN 612 supports LTE air interface and includes functions for radio resource control (RRC) functionality corresponding to the control plane MME 608. The E-UTRAN 612 also provides radio resource management, admission control, scheduling, negotiated uplink (UL) quality of service (QoS) enforcement, cell information broadcast, user encryption / reading, downlink and uplink user planes. It performs various functions including packet header compression / decompression and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP).

The MME 608 as the primary control node is responsible for the paging procedure including mobile UE identities, security parameters and retransmissions. The MME 608 is involved in the bearer activation / deactivation process and is also responsible for selecting a serving gateway 610 for the UE 101. MME 608 functions include Non Access Stratum (NAS) signaling and associated security, and the MME 608 camps on a service provider's Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). In order to check the authority for the UE 101 and to allow the UE 101 to roam. The MME 608 also provides a control plane function for mobility between LTE and 2G / 3G access networks with S3 interfaces from a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 614 terminating at the MME 608. .

The SGSN 614 is responsible for delivering data packets to and from mobile stations within its geographic service area. SGSN's work includes packet routing and forwarding, mobility management, logical link management, and authentication and charging functions. The S6a interface enables the transfer of signature and authentication data for authentication / authorized user access to the evolved system (AAA interface) between the MME 608 and the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 616. The S10 interface between the MMEs 608 provides for MME reallocation and information transfer from the MME 608 to the MME 608. The serving gateway 610 is a node terminating the interface to the E-UTRAN via S1-U.

The S1-U interface provides per-bearer user plane tunneling between the E-UTRAN 612 and the serving gateway 610. The S1-U interface includes support for path switching during handover between eNBs 103. The S4 interface provides relevant control to the user plane and provides mobility support between the SGSN 614 and the 3GPP anchor functionality of the serving gateway 610.

S12 is the interface between the UTRAN 606 and the serving gateway 610. A packet data network (PDN) gateway 618 becomes an escape point for the UE 101 and a traffic entry for the UE 101 thereby providing the UE 101 with external packet data networks. Provides connectivity for The PDN Gateway 618 performs policy enforcement, packet filtering for each user, charging support, legal blocking and packet blocking. Another role of the PDN gateway 618 is to act as an anchor for mobility between non-3GPP and 3GPP technologies such as WiMax and 3GPP2 (CDMA 1X and Evolution Data Only (EvDO)).

The S7 interface provides for passing QoS policies and charging rules from a Policy and Charging Role Function (PCRF) 620 to a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) in the PDN Gateway 618. The SGi interface is an interface between the operator's IP services including the packet data network 622 and the PDN gateway. The packet data network 622 is an operator outside the public or private packet data network or, for example, an internal operator packet data network for providing IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services. Rx + is the interface between the PCRF and the packet data network 622.

As shown in FIG. 6C, the eNB 103 may include an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) (user plane, for example, Radio Link Control (RLC) 615, Media Access Control (MAC) 617). ), And PHY (Physical) 619 and control plane (eg, RRC 621). The eNB 103 also includes the following functions: Inter Cell Radio Resource Management (RRM) 623, Connection Mobility Control 625, Radio Bearer (RB) Control 627 , Radio Admission Control (629), eNB Measurement Configuration and Provision (631), and Dynamic Resource Allocation (Scheduler) (633).

The eNB 103 communicates with an Access Gateway (aGW) 601 via an S1 interface. The aGW 601 includes a user plane 601a and a control plane 601b. The control plane 601b provides the following components: System Architecture Evolution (SAE) Bearer Control 635 and Mobile Management (MM) Entity 637. The user plane 601b includes a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) 639 and user plane functions 641. Note that the functionality of the aGW 601 may also be provided by a combination of Serving Gateway (SGW) and Packet Data Network (PDN) GW. The aGW 601 may also interface with packet networks such as the Internet 643.

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6D, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) functionality may exist within the eNB 103 rather than the GW 601. In addition to this PDCP capability, the eNB functions of FIG. 6C are also provided within this structure.

In the system of FIG. 6D, functional partitioning between the E-UTRAN and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) is provided. In this example, a radio protocol architecture of E-UTRAN is provided for the user plane and the control plane. A more detailed description of the structure is provided in 3GPP TS 86.300.

The eNB 103 interfaces to the serving gateway 645 via S1, which includes a mobility anchoring function 647. According to this structure, the Mobility Management Entity (MME) 649 includes System Architecture Evolution (SAE) Bearer Control (651), Idle State Mobility Handling (653), and Non-Access (NAS). Stratum) provides security (655).

7 is a diagram of exemplary components of an LTE terminal capable of operating in the system of FIGS. 6A-6D, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The LTE terminal 700 is configured to operate within a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system. In turn, antenna system 701 provides a plurality of antennas for receiving and transmitting signals. The antenna system 701 is connected to a wireless circuit 703, which includes a plurality of transmitters 705 and receivers 707. The radio circuitry covers all radio frequency (RF) circuits as well as base-band processing circuits. As shown, layer 1 (L1) and layer-2 (L2) processing are provided by units of 709 and 711, respectively. Optionally, layer-3 functions may be provided (not shown). Module 713 executes all MAC layer functions. The timing and adjustment module 715 interfaces with an external timing reference (not shown), for example, to maintain proper timing. In addition, a processor 717 is included. Under this scenario, the LTE terminal 700 communicates with a computing device 719, which may be a personal computer, workstation, PDA, web device, cellular telephone, or the like.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with various embodiments and implementations, the invention is not so limited, and covers various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements falling within the scope of the appended claims. While features of the invention are expressed in specific combinations between claims, it is to be understood that such features may be arranged in any combination and order.

Claims (30)

Generate a control message having a specified format for resource allocation, wherein the control message includes a plurality of control fields; And
[The value represents timing alignment information or information for starting a random access procedure, in which a value of one of the control fields is reserved to define information that is not information for resource allocation. In this case, the control message Is transmitted over a control channel according to a lower layer protocol. The method of claim 1,
The lower layer protocol comprises one of an L1 / L2 protocol or a medium access control (MAC) layer protocol. The method of claim 2, wherein the method is
Determine whether there is data to be transmitted; And
Determining whether resources have been allocated for the data transmission,
In this case, the control message is sent using the L1 / L2 protocol if there is no data to be transmitted and no resources have been allocated. The method of claim 3, wherein the method is
Determining whether the terminal configured to receive the control message is in a synchronized state,
In this case, if there is data to be transmitted and the terminal is in synchronization, the control message is sent using the MAC layer protocol. The method of claim 1,
Wherein the one control field comprises any one of a resource allocation field, a modulation field, or a hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) field. The method of claim 1, wherein
Indicating whether hybrid ARQ (HARQ) is applied within the one control field. The method of claim 1,
And the control channel comprises a physical downlink control channel. The method of claim 1,
Wherein the control channel is established over a wireless communication network that is compatible with a long term evolution (LTE) compliant architecture. A computer readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method of claim 1. A logic configured to generate a control message having a specified format for resource allocation, the apparatus comprising:
The control message includes a plurality of control fields,
The logic is further configured to reserve a value of one of the control fields to specify information that is not information for resource allocation,
Wherein the value represents timing alignment information or information for starting a random access procedure, in which case the control message is sent over a control channel according to a lower layer protocol. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the lower layer protocol comprises one of an L1 / L2 protocol or a medium access control (MAC) layer protocol. The method of claim 11, wherein the logic is,
Determine whether there is data to be transmitted; And
Is also configured to determine whether resources have been allocated for the data transmission,
If there is no data to be transmitted and no resources have been allocated, the control message is sent using the L1 / L2 protocol. The method of claim 12, wherein the logic is,
Is further configured to determine whether the terminal configured to receive the control message is in a synchronized state,
In this case, if there is data to be transmitted and the terminal is in synchronization, the control message is sent using the MAC layer protocol. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the one control field comprises one of a resource allocation field, a modulation field or a hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) field. The method of claim 10, wherein the logic is,
And further indicate whether hybrid ARQ (HARQ) is applied within the one control field. The method of claim 10,
And the control channel comprises a physical downlink control channel. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the control channel is established over a wireless communication network that is compatible with a long term evolution (LTE) compliant architecture. Means for generating a control message having a specified format for resource allocation, wherein the control message comprises a plurality of control fields; And
Means for reserving a value of one of the control fields to define information that is not information for resource allocation [where the value indicates information for starting timing alignment or random access procedure, in which case the control Message is transmitted over a control channel according to a lower layer protocol. A method comprising receiving a control message having a format designated for resource allocation, the method comprising:
In this case, the control message includes a plurality of control fields, and
The value of one of the control fields is reserved to define information that is not information for resource allocation,
The value indicates timing alignment information or information for starting a random access procedure. In this case, the control message is transmitted through a control channel according to a lower layer protocol including an L1 / L2 protocol or a medium access control (MAC) layer protocol. How. The method of claim 19,
If there is no data to be transmitted and no resources have been allocated for the transmission, the control message is sent using the L1 / L2 protocol. The method of claim 20, wherein the method is
Determining whether synchronization is obtained with respect to the communication link,
In this case, there is data to be transmitted and the control message is sent using the MAC layer protocol if synchronization is obtained. The method of claim 19,
Wherein the one control field comprises any one of a resource allocation field, a modulation field, or a hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) field. The method of claim 19,
The control message indicates whether hybrid ARQ (HARQ) is applied in the one control field. A computer readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method of claim 19. An apparatus comprising logic configured to receive a control message having a format designated for resource allocation, the apparatus comprising:
In this case, the control message includes a plurality of control fields, and
The value of one of the control fields is reserved to define information that is not information for resource allocation,
The value indicates timing alignment information or information for starting a random access procedure. In this case, the control message is transmitted through a control channel according to a lower layer protocol including an L1 / L2 protocol or a medium access control (MAC) layer protocol. Device. The method of claim 25,
The control message is sent using the L1 / L2 protocol if there is no data to be transmitted and no resources have been allocated for the transmission. The method of claim 26, wherein the logic is,
Is also configured to determine whether synchronization is obtained with respect to the communication link,
In this case, there is data to be transmitted and the control message is sent using the MAC layer protocol if synchronization is obtained. The method of claim 25,
Wherein the one control field comprises one of a resource allocation field, a modulation field or a hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) field. The method of claim 25,
And the control message indicates whether hybrid ARQ (HARQ) is applied in the one control field. 18. An apparatus comprising means for receiving a control message that defines either timing alignment information or a dedicated random access preamble, the apparatus comprising:
In this case, the control message includes a plurality of control fields, and
The value of one of the control fields is reserved to define information that is not information for resource allocation,
In this case, the control message is transmitted over a control channel according to a lower layer protocol including an L1 / L2 protocol or a medium access control (MAC) layer protocol.

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